Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons characters; only the original characters listed in this fic.

I accept constructive criticism. c:

~•~•~•~

It was probably the best period ever in the history of high school.

Lunch time.

Once the bell rang, students grabbed their things and rushed out of their classes to head to the cafeteria; for the daring ones, they went to sneak off of school grounds to grab actual food. As for the students who weren't hungry, they scattered throughout the area to hang out with their friends, make out with their respective boyfriends/girlfriends or cause mischief out of boredom.

Lisa walked towards the cafeteria by herself, having told her friends to go ahead without her. She would have been with them had it not been for Mr. Ernkoz, who stopped her after class to express his gratitude for her being in his class. Turns out her reputation for being one of the smartest kids ever in the Springfield school district spread to the high school teachers and many were vying for a chance to teach the young genius. Lisa was flattered but she managed to convince the teachers to treat her like she was a normal student. Getting targeted by your peers for being a teacher's pet wasn't exactly pleasant.

When she walked into the cafeteria, the smell of tater tots and pizza hit her in the face while the sound of noisy chatter filled her ears. Nearly every table was filled with kids who were scanning the room and calling their friends over once they found them. The blonde searched for a head of platinum blonde hair sitting next to a head of red hair. After a few seconds, she managed to spot the two sitting among their group of friends, conveniently facing her and having a conversation.

"Allison! Alex!"

The girls looked up at the sound of her yell and waved to their friend. Lisa pointed to one of the empty seats across from them and in return, got a thumbs up from the both of them.

'Alright, they're saving a seat for me, time to get my lunch.'

After getting on the line and standing for about three minutes, she reached the lunch lady. She didn't even bother to glance at Lisa, droning out the sentence that she must have said nearly a hundred times already.

"What'll it be, hon?"

"Um…do you have any vegetarian options? All I see is pepperoni pizza, burgers and hot dogs."

"What you see is what you get. Either get two orders of tater tots or tater tots and a tuna salad sandwich."

Lisa wrinkled her nose in annoyance and sighed. 'Things haven't changed at all.'

"Tater tots and a sandwich please."

The lunch lady gave Lisa her tray and started serving the boy behind her, his thick German accent ringing out. "Hello, can I have one of everything, please?"

The Simpson girl grabbed a carton of 2% milk and a bowl of grapes before paying for her lunch and walking back out into the open space. She made a beeline towards Allison and Alex, now reunited with the rest of their friends, Nina, Becky and Sophie. The three girls brought a large array of colors and styles to their current group.

Nina Skalka was their designated 'bad girl', exuding punk rock with her dark clothes and band tees. She was donning a weathered black leather jacket over a black t-shirt with the Blondie logo and the face of Debbie Harry on it. She gave a pop of color in her outfit with her tight pink plaid jeans before the black came back in her knee-high Doc Martens, polished and laced to perfection. A pair of purple headphones sat around her neck whenever she wasn't listening to her music; faint beats could be heard from the small speakers most of the time. Her usually platinum blonde hair was dyed to a medium brown but styled in her usual twin braids, falling onto her chest; a few strands escaped and hung past her pierced ears. Her gray eyes were always surrounded by smudges of black and whatever color went with her accessories that day; today was pink to match her pants.

Becky Shorter was her complete opposite, always choosing bright colors and outrageous prints. Her outfit of choice consisted of a plain white hoodie over a teal t-shirt that said 'I'd rather be a mermaid'. The simplicity of her upper half was balanced out by her bottom half; the blonde wore girlfriend jeans with a multitude of patches all over, ranging from hearts and moons to peace signs and quirky sayings. Her feet donned lo-top pink Converses, the soles nearly worn-down from all the love its owner had given it; to Lisa's amusement, her ankle socks peeked out, showing a smattering of yellow smiley faces. Becky moved her low ponytail up into a higher one atop her head and her ears only had one piercing each; a heart stud sat on each lobe. Her constant grin showed off her braces; they had first come off in eighth grade but a soccer ball to the face forced her to adorn them once more. The only makeup the blonde had ever wore was eyeliner on her lids; instead of black though, it was one of the colors of the rainbow.

And finally, Sophie O'Donnell balanced the two out with her earthy colors and loose silhouettes. A taupe bat-wing cardigan draped her torso with a simple white t-shirt sitting underneath. Her multi-patterned purple skirt was flowy and spread out, hanging down to below her knees and giving her freedom to move. True to her easy and relaxed nature, comfortable black flats adorned her feet. Her thick, curly chestnut tresses were shoulder-length and partially hidden by the green knit beanie sitting on the back of her head; a gift from Allison on her last birthday. Sophie was completely makeup-free, not a fan of cosmetics on herself. The girls, especially Becky, had always liked her stance, adoring the natural freckles smattering along her cheeks.

Becky immediately spotted Lisa and grinned at her. "Hey Lise!" She removed her teal backpack that was lying in the seat reserved for Lisa. "Sorry, wanted to make sure no one took your seat."

The Simpson girl smiled and sat down with her tray. "Thanks Becky, I appreciate it."

The six girls at the table ate their lunch and caught up with each other, complimenting each other's appearances and chatting about what they did over the summer.

"Nina, I love that hair color on you! You look really good as a brunette. You should've let your hair down though, show it off a bit?" Nina tugged her braids slightly and gave a smirk to Alex's question.

"Sorry Alex, can't ditch the braids, they're my trademark."

Becky leaned over behind Lisa and tugged one of the plaits. "Yeah, if she gets rid of them, then I can't pull them anymore!"

"Ow, Becky!" Nina scowled and slapped her hand away. "You know I hate it when you do that!"

The peppy girl cackled and took a bite of her burger. "If you hate when I do it, then why don't you get me back?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Because I'm not evil like you and I'm in the middle of my well-needed meal, thank you."

Lisa giggled at their banter and looked in front of her to the calmest of the trio. "Sophie, how was your summer? How was New York?"

Sophie smiled and put down her fork. "It was amazing! When you look past the air pollution and garbage, it's pretty incredible. Lots of stores, lots of people, lots of landmarks. Best vacation ever." She finished with a dreamy smile, reminiscing on the fascinating sights.

Alex jumped in with a sly tone. "Did you see any cute guys there? I hear there's some real hotties in the Big Apple."

A collective groan came from the other girls at her question. It wasn't a surprise to hear that question from the fashionista; half of her daily thoughts consisted of boys and how to snag the cutest of the bunch.

Sophie shrugged in response. "Eh…I guess? I wasn't really paying attention to that." She picked up a forkful of mac and cheese and shoved it into her mouth, ending the topic.

"Aw shoot." Alex pouted and looked past the girl stuffing her face to the redhead sitting next to her. "What about you, Alli? Did you do anything exciting this summer?"

Allison put down her sandwich and looked up in thought. "Um…we went to Washington, D.C…. I won another scholarship… my hamster had babies-"

Becky cut in. "You canoodled with Martin." Allison spit her apple juice out, narrowly missing Nina and Lisa.

"Wh-what?!"

The blonde smirked at the redhead's flustered expression. "Don't lie Allison!" She held up her closed fist.

"Let's see: you have a boyfriend-" One finger extended.

"He's older and can drive-" Two fingers.

"You had three months of free time." Three fingers.

"Which means, you both had ample time to sneak off to some abandoned parking lot and make out and/or shag, what normal couple wouldn't do that, especially during the summer?"

The Taylor girl gave her friend a fierce glare but its ferocity was downsized by the vibrant blush on her cheeks. "We wouldn't, Rebecca. We're not constantly on each other like every other hormone-addled teenage couple in this school, we have some dignity. Besides, Martin and I didn't really get to see each other too much this summer, he was busy with work and college visits." Allison shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal but Lisa could see the sadness in her best friend's eyes.

Nina gave her a sympathetic look and a small smile, having spotted her friend's uneasiness as well. "Hey, don't stress, Allison. A little absence is good for the heart, unlike what some people might tell you." The brunette eyed Becky from the side with disapproval before shaking her head and putting her headphones back on, bobbing her head to some rock music.

Sophie also gave a withering look to the blonde. "Yeah Becky, ease off."

Lisa then elbowed her. "Yeah Becks, leave her be. Besides, speaking of 'canoodling', you were the one who tried to hit on my brother every time you came to my house in hopes of 'him asking you out and us getting married and having seven boys, all as handsome and strapping as their father'."

At her high-pitched impersonation, the rest of the table, sans Becky, roared with laughter.

"Lisa, that was perfect!"

"Wow, you're still hung up on Bart? C'mon girl, get a grip!"

Becky slammed her fists on the table in annoyance, her face twisted in a scowl and cheeks tinged pink. "Shut up, I have desires and urges that may or may not have to be fulfilled by a certain guy!"

Alex looked at the ranting blonde and replied sarcastically. "Sweetie, what desires? You're as much of a virgin as the rest of us."

"And how much is that, Alexandra?"

Nina piped in without pausing her music or looking up from her phone. "Super-mega-ultra-can-never-get-out-of-the-friend- zone virgin."

After an awkward silence, the girls sighed wistfully and shook their heads before continuing to eat the rest of their lunch. While casual conversations went on, Lisa smiled to herself at the amount of banter they had in the span of ten minutes.

'I've got some quirky friends but Buddha, I missed them. Hm, I wonder if Bart found his friends yet…'

Scanning the room, she looked for a head of spiky blonde hair before stopping at a table against the opposite wall. Her older brother was sitting with his usual group of friends but was facing away from her. Lisa's lips turned up a bit before a thought went through her head.

'Wonder how his day is going…'

~•~•~•~

Bart lost count of how many times he had spaced out during his friends' conversation. At this point, they were getting a bit miffed and continued without him, much to his delight. They were talking about how their day went so far and it was the last thing Bart wanted to talk about. He still couldn't believe his eyes when Jessica Lovejoy, of all people, walked into his classroom that morning. For a few seconds, he thought he had fallen asleep in class and was having a nightmare. Boy, how he wished that were true.

Even though it was great to see his friends again, especially Richard and Lewis as they had been in separate classes until now, he wasn't really in the mood to speak. The Simpson boy used his silence to take in the two boys' appearances.

Richard Huang's outfit screamed 'skater boy' and could not be more accurate; skateboarding was one of the major hobbies Bart had bonded over with the half-Asian boy. A sky-blue hoodie was left unzipped and a t-shirt of a lighter shade was worn, displaying a large graphic of palm trees with 'California' printed in large letters at the bottom. He polished off the look with slim fit khaki pants (Bart knew that he preferred skinny jeans but his parents nagged him into 'not looking like a delinquent for once') and adorned checkered slip-on Vans on his feet. Despite wearing them to death, Richard made sure to wipe off every scuff or speck of dirt each time they came off. His gray hair was short all around except for his bangs, shaggy and hanging down over his left brow, making sure not to obscure his dark green eyes as he scoped out each girl that walked by their table.

Lewis Clark was less high-maintenance than his best friend and only put the basics into outfit planning. He wore an orange and beige-striped t-shirt, similar to his childhood one, over a long-sleeved black shirt and olive green cargo pants that bunched up at the ankles. The African-American boy always had his large pockets filled up with all kinds of things, from sticks of various gums to paper clips from his essays. Similar to Milhouse, a pair of Adidas sneakers donned his feet but were a deep shade of blue rather than bright red. His black afro stayed at the same length as it always had but he had been debating on changing it up, either chopping it down to a hi-top fade or cutting it down close to his head. Ever the most aware, Lewis kept his attentive dark brown eyes on each boy as they contributed to the current conversation.

When Bart tuned back in, he heard an exclamation from Milhouse. "So guys, did you know that Jessica Lovejoy is back?"

Milk was spit out and jaws were dropped from the other boys at the table.

"Say what?!"

"You're kidding me."

"Van Houten, you're full of it. Don't make me have to wail on you!"

Milhouse squeaked at Nelson's threat and sputtered out. "B-but it's true, I saw her! Bart's in the same homeroom as me, he saw her too! Tell them, Bart!" At the mention of his name, the blonde whipped his head up and glared at his best friend.

'Fuck you, Milhouse.'

The blue-haired boy's eyes widened at the harsh profanity. "Hey, what did I do?!"

'Wait, did I say that out loud?'

"Sorry Milhouse, it's just…yeah, I saw her. That's it." He went back to finishing his first slice of pizza, signaling the end of the conversation, much to the others' dismay.

Richard scratched his head in confusion. "That's it? You didn't talk to her?"

Bart shook his head. "No, Richard."

Lewis rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Can you blame the guy?"

"Oh shut up Lewis, I had to ask."

Nelson frowned at the Simpson boy, wondering why he was in such a pissy mood. "Simpson, why are you gettin' so bent out of shape over that chick, she's old news!" The older teen leaned back his chair and waved his hand in front of him. "She screwed you over, you got her back, end of story."

The blond sighed in exasperation. "Nelson, I didn't get her back, Lisa did. God knows I was too whipped then to try and call her out."

A scoff was what he got in response. "Okay, and? Like I said, end of story, don't get your boxers in a twist 'cause of some girl, man."

Everyone but the brunet jumped when the troubled teen slammed his fist down."No, it's not the end of the story! Who does she think she is, coming back to Springfield like she didn't raise hell back then?" Bart's temper flared until he felt a firm hand on his right shoulder, looking over to see his best friend being the owner of it.

Milhouse gave him a concerned look. "Bart, cool it. I know how all that messed you up but…that was in the past. You're not gonna get better unless you let it go…" At the other boy's scrutinizing stare, he shrunk back a bit and removed his hand. "U-Unless you wanna bottle it up, i-it's up to you…"

Bart continued watching his meek friend until he let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Sorry Milhouse…you're right. I thought I was over it but I guess not…"

Lewis cut in and pointed his fork of spaghetti at him. "You know what you need to distract you? Another girl."

The Simpson boy groaned at his suggestion. "Lewis, no, I don't-"

Richard decided to pipe up as well, suddenly interested in the new subject. "Oh come on, Bartman, don't tell me you haven't been eyeing up some of these ladies." His wandering eyes followed a pair of petite blondes as they strolled past their table, lips forming into a sly grin. "Especially these new girls."

Although he knew his friends were trying to distract him from his predicament, dating or even hooking up was one of the last things on his mind. His last fling was in March with a fellow student by the name of Leslie; things had been going smoothly for a couple of months until he took on more hours at work and had less time to take her on dates. She didn't approve of the lack of attention and became clingy, often texting the teen every hour after convincing herself that work was a cover for a girl on the side. After a couple of weeks of enduring this behavior, Bart dropped her like a sack of potatoes. Until the last day of school, he had felt her penetrative stare on his person every time they passed in the hallways.

"Look guys, I'm not trying to get involved with anyone right now, alright? I'll figure something out…"

Richard shrugged at his friend. "Suit yourself. I mean, if you want…I could distract this Jessica girl for you…"

His smile dropped when all four of his friends gave him deadpan stares.

Milhouse shook his head at the gray-haired boy. "Too soon, man."

Nelson reached over and swatted him on the back of the head. "Read the room, dingus."

Lewis rolled his eyes at his best friend. "You know, we might as well just start calling you Dick now."

"Hey! I didn't mean to make it worse, I'm just suggesting-"

A hushed whisper from Nelson cut off his sentence. "Devil chick, incomin'."

All five boys straightened up in their seats and looked down at their trays, feigning interest, as said 'devil chick' passed their table. Bart kept his eyes down as she walked by, refusing to make any sort of eye contact with her. Once she was gone, they all let out a sigh of relief, glad that nothing happened.

They never noticed the longing glance that Jessica gave to the Simpson boy.

~•~•~•~

Sighing heavily, Jessica twirled some spaghetti onto her fork, failing to get more than a couple of noodles on. She gazed around the cafeteria at all the animated and chattering students, happy to be surrounded by their friends once again. Her jaw tightened as she clenched her fingers, nearly snapping the plastic fork in half.

She really wasn't sure whether to envy them or hate them. Of course, that one part of her brain was saying to hate them all, hate them for giving her nasty looks the second she set foot on the campus, hate them for whispering loudly behind her back, hate them for remembering her cruelty; she held back her urges by taking a deep breath.

Jessica had made a promise to herself and her parents to start her first day off right but the positive and timid attitude she had come in with had nearly dwindled from all of the difficulties she was facing. It had only been four periods since homeroom had ended and word of her return was rampant throughout the school. Students who had remembered her informed the new ones on who the raven-haired beauty was and what she did to make her so infamous. In return, the newbies began tacking on crazy reasons as to why she returned to her hometown after years of being absent; ideas spanned from a teen pregnancy (how the fuck was that possible, her stomach was flat as a board) to a failed exorcism (she may have been evil but she wasn't a devil spawn, Christ).

And to make matters worse, the boy that she was eager to see couldn't even look in her direction. After coming into homeroom and walking to her seat, he looked away once they had made eye contact. When class ended, he grabbed his things as fast as he could and ran like a bat out of hell. She had just walked past his table; not only him, but all of his friends tensed up and stared at the table like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

All so Bart wouldn't have to look at her.

Jessica lifted the spaghetti to her mouth and ate it with distaste, making a mental note to visit the nurse after lunch so she could take her medication.

~•~•~•~

BRIIIIIIIING.

Lisa's head shot up as the sound of the bell filled the classroom.

"Okay everyone, don't forget to get your internet consent forms filled out, we're starting work tomorrow!"

At the teacher's dismissal, kids sprang out of their seats and headed out to the hallway, chatting excitedly as they made their ways to their respective lockers. Lisa picked up her notebook and pencil and made her way out, only to be stopped by the teacher.

"Lisa, wait!" She turned towards the woman. "I'm sorry to keep you from leaving, but I just wanted to say how I'm honored to have you in my class. I heard from some of my fellow English teachers at the middle and elementary school that you're a talented writer."

Lisa smiled bashfully and shook her head. "Thank you Mrs. Delvecchio but I think I'm merely decent, not quite on Edgar Allen Poe's level."

"Haha, yes, no one can quite reach his level! Have a good day, dear."

"You too!"

She walked out of the room and into the hall, making her way towards her locker a few doors down. When she reached, she quickly put in her combination and packed her bag with whatever she needed.

"Hey Lisa!"

As she closed her locker, Lisa heard a voice call out to her. Turning around, she spotted Allison and Alex standing together. "Hey guys, ready to head home?"

Alex shrugged. "Actually, that's why we're here. My mom just called and said I have a doctor's appointment in an hour so she's picking me up."

Lisa frowned. "Oh…what about you, Allison?"

The redhead gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Lise, Mr. Beighlie wants Group A band to stay behind and help him set up the chorus room for tomorrow's practice."

Lisa pouted at them. "Aw guys, that means I'll be all alone on the bus."

"Sorry! Don't worry, tomorrow we'll be here for sure."

"Alex Whitney, please report to the lobby for dismissal."

Alex glanced at the PA system. "Oh wow, my mom's here already? Gosh, you'd think she was going for her own appointment." She gave both girls a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Bye girls, DMY!"

"DMY back at ya!"

Alex walked down the stairs, the sound of her heels against the concrete mixing in with the student traffic. Once she was out of sight, Allison checked her watch. "I should probably head to the chorus room early so we can finish faster. See ya, Lise."

"See ya, Allison." Lisa hugged her friend, waving goodbye as she headed down the same stairs.

The Simpson girl made her way down the hall and to the other set of stairs, walking down until she reached the back entrance hall, where students stood waiting for their buses to arrive. Lisa opted to stand outside with some of the other kids, taking in the sunshine and fresh air. She decided to lean against the wall next to the door, predicting that the buses wouldn't get here for another five minutes.

'This school district does not know the meaning of on time, apparently.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a young man walking through the door and out to one of the cars in the visitors' section of the parking lot. Assuming it was a teacher, Lisa paid no mind.

Once he reached his car, he set down the box he was carrying and pulled a cowboy hat out of it, fitting it back onto his light blond hair. At that point, Lisa pushed herself off the wall and stood upright.

'Luke!'

Lisa's brain kicked into overdrive as four familiar girls by the name of Jealousy, Honesty, Conscience and Libido conversed in her head.

Jealousy: It's him! I can't believe he came to my school of all places! Who does he think he is?!

Honesty: Well, it was for the whole school, not you.

Jealousy: So?! Ugh, I still remember how badly he dumped me, I felt like an idiot.

Conscience: Remember girls, we deserved that. We should be put that behind us and take the lesson learned. If anything, to be polite, we should go up to him and at least say hi.

Libido: Yeah, say hi and then make out with him! Ooh, he got even cuter, I didn't think it was possible! Purrow!

Conscience: Quiet libido!

Libido: Just you wait 'til my next birthday Conscience, I'm gonna raise hell like never before! Binge and purge, baby!

Conscience: Oh,for goodness sake. Just go say hi to him!

As the argument ended in her mind, Lisa was brought back to reality.

'Should I really go say hi? I mean, it would be nice to catch up a little bit, even if we might never see each other again…' Looking up, she saw that he had packed his stuff away and was preparing to leave. 'Oh Buddha, give me strength.'

Lisa ran down the steps and over to his car. "U-um, excuse me…"

To her chagrin, her voice came out shakily. Somehow he managed to hear and turned around, flashing a pearly grin at the blonde.

"Hello there missy, can I help you?"

Lisa couldn't help the slight flutter in her stomach and the warmth in her cheeks as she looked at the handsome man. "Hi. I, um, was there at the assembly today...Mr. Stetson, right?"

Luke chuckled and tilted the brim of his hat. "You can call me Luke, darlin', Mr. Stetson is my pop's name."

She smiled slightly, gaining a bit more confidence. 'He hasn't noticed me yet…not sure if that's good or bad.'

"Well, I thought you gave a great presentation, Luke…but I have another reason for being here." The nervous girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them back up. "Do you…remember me?"

The older man blinked repeatedly before frowning in thought, taking in her appearance, looking for anything familiar. After a few minutes, he shook his head. "I'm sorry little lady but could you tell me your name? It might help me."

"It's, um…Lisa Simpson."

As soon as she mentioned her name, a look of shock and recognition came over Luke's face. "Lisa? From years ago at the ranch?" She nodded shyly. "Wow…how are you doin'?"

"Um, I'm…peachy. How about you?"

"Good, good…"

A few seconds of silence passed before she broke it. "How…how's your sister?"

The cowboy blinked in surprise at the mention of his sister. "Oh, she, uh, she graduated high school last year…she went down to North Carolina for college."

"That's neat."

The Simpson girl would have hid in her shell if she had one. Her confidence had ebbed away and was now replaced by unease and awkwardness. Luckily, she heard the loud engines of the school buses pulling up. 'My savior!'

"Um…" She motioned to the buses. "I have to go now…"

"Ah, yeah, I should get goin' too…" Luke scratched the back of his neck nervously. "So, um, bye Lisa."

"B-bye Luke."

They waved to each other and got into their separate vehicles. Lisa found an empty seat in the front and plopped onto it, resting her head against the warm window, replaying the last couple of minutes in her head. She groaned in embarrassment at the bumbling reunion, lightly bouncing her head against the glass.

'Way to make an impression, Lisa Marie.'

~•~•~•~

The rickety yellow bus came to a stop in front of the Simpsons' residence. Lisa ran out of its door as she yelled goodbye to Otto. She walked up to the front door and opened it, knowing that her mom kept the door unlocked until nighttime.

She called out to her mom. "I'm home!"

"In the kitchen, dear!"

The blonde walked through the living room and into the kitchen, spotting her mom frosting cupcakes. Marge looked up and smiled warmly at her daughter. "Hello honey, how was school today?"

"Not bad but the teachers are already trying to shove job opportunities on us. We had an assembly about it today."

"Well that was generous of them to do! You might roll your eyes at it now, but these opportunities will benefit you in the future!"

Lisa chuckled. "I know mom, I know. You made cupcakes?"

Marge answered as she refilled the pastry bag with blue icing. "Yep, your sister asked for them last night and I promised that they'd be ready by the time she came home from school. By the way, where's your brother?"

Lisa shrugged. "Probably went to hang out with his friends, I haven't seen him since lunch."

"Hrm, I really wish he would give me a notice if he's not going to come straight home."

The teen patted her shoulder gently. "Relax mom, he's almost 18, I'm sure he can handle himself." Marge sighed, not quite convinced. "I guess you're right…do you want me to make a snack for you, honey?"

"No thanks mom. I'm actually gonna go take a short nap. Oh, I have permission slips you need to sign also."

Marge nodded, not looking up from the cupcakes she was working on. "Alright, leave them on the coffee table and I'll get them. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready!"

Lisa headed out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, climbing each step and walking right until she reached her room. Throwing her bag to the floor, she closed her door. To her delight, Snowball was curled up at the foot of her bed. "Hey girl, did you miss me?" The cat looked up and purred in delight, jumping off and trotting over to her owner, rubbing against her leg affectionately.

Lisa giggled and sat on her bed before curling up on her side, patting the space next to her. "Come here, let's take a little nap." Snowball complied and curled back into her ball next to the Simpson girl, eyes shutting in preparation for the nap.

The teen closed her eyes and relaxed her body, preparing to unwind from the eventful first day.

'One day down, one hundred and seventy-nine more to go.'

~•~•~•~

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